


Elevator Maintenance for the Clueless and Lovable

by armyofbees



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, M/M, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 11:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17600171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armyofbees/pseuds/armyofbees
Summary: They get stuck in an elevator.





	Elevator Maintenance for the Clueless and Lovable

Caleb stumbles, just a bit, feet moving a little too quickly for his frozen brain to keep up. Ben makes a noise of distress beside him, endearingly. He carefully avoids a patch of ice as he hops the sidewalk and pulls the door to his apartment building open, ducking inside and tugging it shut behind him and Ben.

It’s cold as hell outside with the first snowfall of the year and Caleb’s entire everything has gone numb. They’d been planning an outing to the taproom when the taproom announced it was closing early due to the cold and they were left with the option of taking the bus to Ben’s or walking the three blocks to Caleb’s. Obviously, they decided they didn’t need fingers, and walked.

They take a moment once they’re inside to shake out frozen hands and rub at ruddy cheeks before Caleb hits the button for the elevator. His apartment’s on the fifth floor and he’s not too keen on braving the stairs when he can’t feel his toes.

Ben runs a hand through his hair, pulling his hat off and tucking it in his pocket. He doesn’t even look rumpled, like he should. He just looks _good,_ with messy hair and a wind-nipped nose. “Wow,” he says. “Who decided to walk? Was that you?”

“Pretty sure it was a mutual thing,” Caleb says. “’Course, I think you proposed it first.”

“No, I think this was a you thing,” Ben says with finality. They stare each other down for a moment, and then they both begin to laugh, ridiculous and a little delirious with the chill.

The elevator dings and the doors open. A harried, regretful looking woman bundled to her ears in woolen scarves steps out and hesitates just a second before pushing through the doors to the outside. Caleb and Ben share a glance as they step in past her and Caleb punches the button for his floor. The doors close.

“How much longer d’you think this will last?” Caleb asks, peering at Ben, who has snow melting on his eyelashes, the fucker.

“Hopefully not too long,” Ben says. “I like being able to leave the house sometimes.”

“You’re out right now,” Caleb points out.

“Doesn’t count when we’re going back to your place because it’s too—”

The elevator jerks suddenly and for a split second, Caleb thinks that they’re falling. Then a grinding noise reverberates through the carriage and they screech slowly to a halt, the floor shaking minutely as it stills. Caleb falls back against the wall for support, trying to fight the panic clawing at his chest until everything settles. He swallows hard, his throat closing up, and everything is silent save Ben’s quick breathing.

“Shit,” Caleb says, eloquently.

“What the hell, Caleb?” Ben hisses, looking for all the world like he’s on the verge of tears.

“No, it’s fine, we’re fine,” Caleb says, mostly to stave off his own panic because — he’s never been _trapped_ in an _elevator_ before. “Here, let’s—” he presses the emergency call button, because of _course_ his building’s too old for an actual phone. The emergency bell rings, blaringly loud in the small space.

“Excellent,” Ben mutters. “It’s a million degrees below zero and we’re trapped in an elevator and it’s going to be too cold for people to come get us. Oh, and we’re going to be deaf by the time they do.”

“Calm down, Tallboy,” Caleb says, flashing his best smile. He slides down the wall to sit, and motions for Ben to do the same. “All we can do is wait. ’S probably just all the cold’s fucked up the system.”

“You have no idea how elevators work,” Ben says faintly, but he sits.

“Yeah, but neither do you.”

Ben sniffs. “Fair.”

They face each other in the small space, backs pressed against opposite walls, listening to the bell shriek in the otherwise crisp silence. Caleb does his best to shoot Ben reassuring looks, but he seems more focused on picking at his nails and doing anything but looking at Caleb.

About five minutes pass before Ben flexes his hands and says, “There’s gotta be _something_ we can do.”

Caleb raises an eyebrow and leans forward to clap a hand over Ben’s knee. “Take a breath. We’re gonna be fine. We can call Annie if it would make you feel better.” He really doesn’t mean to sound patronizing.

“Fuck off,” Ben says anyway, but he manages a shaky smile. “How old is this place, anyway? Just so I know how much I should worry.”

“How about no? We both know you’re gonna worry anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s probably smart.”

So they sit, their feet not quite touching across the elevator floor, Ben still picking at his nails and Caleb folding his hands in his lap so he doesn’t do something stupid, like try and hold him. The bell still goes, fading into the background of their thoughts.

“Not that this is what’s happening,” Ben says abruptly, “but if you happened to be stuck in an elevator forever, what do you think you’d take with you?”

Caleb’s quiet for a second. He tugs his gloves off his hands, setting them next to himself, tapping his fingers against each other. “You, I guess,” he says, which might be a calculated risk but, more likely, is just him being a dumbass with too much adrenaline in his veins.

“Me?” Ben asks, sounding surprised.

“Well, yeah.” Caleb shrugs and meets his eyes. “You’d probably be the one to find a way out. Plus, out of all our friends I think you have the most meat on your bones. You know, in case of cannibalism.”

Ben stares at him, face torn between horror and a bizarre smile. “God, you’re the worst,” he laughs. “I thought — I don’t know, actually.”

“Oh, come on.” Caleb knocks Ben’s ankle with his boot. “You thought…?”

“I don’t know,” Ben mumbles. “That you were being serious?”

“I was!” Caleb says. “I promise, when I get stuck in an elevator, you’ll be the first to be stuck with me.”

Ben looks at him flatly. “Asshole.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Caleb resumes tapping his fingers together. “How about you? What would you take?”

Ben shrugs. “You. Just to repay the favor.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, that and I don’t think anyone else would know how to calm me down.” He smiles as he amends, “While still being an asshole, of course.”

Caleb ducks his head so he doesn’t have to see Ben look at him like that, all soft and tender and everything he could never have.

“Caleb,” says Ben quietly, gently.

“Mm.”

“Caleb,” more insistent. “Look at me.”

Caleb does. Ben has shifted forward, closer now, sending a creeping feeling up Caleb’s spine and a rush of cold air through his lungs. His eyes are dark and intense, scanning Caleb’s face, and he looks anything but terrible in the harsh elevator lighting, with his hair still a mess and his stupid, puffy coat still zipped up. “Yeah?”

“I meant that. There’s no one I’d rather be stuck in an elevator with.” He grimaces. “That’s terrible. That is the worst thing I could’ve said.”

“Stop,” Caleb says. “Just stop talking. You’re ruining the moment.” Because he’s inching forward too, and now they’re close enough to touch. Caleb could take Ben’s hands now, lace their fingers together, pull him within inches — so he does.

Ben watches him intently and Caleb feels searched, and far too vulnerable. He lets his eyes drop to Ben’s mouth, half to escape the scrutiny and half because that’s about all he’s thinking of at the moment.

“Really?” Ben asks, a little too loud. Caleb just gives him an exasperated look and kisses him. Ben is soft and pliant for all of two seconds before he kisses back, harder, pressing Caleb’s head into the elevator wall. Caleb feels his spine dig into the metal and feels Ben shift so his knee rests between Caleb’s legs, and tightens his hands around Ben’s arms. Ben’s hands are strong on his shoulders, thumbs pressing into his collarbones through his shirt. He pulls Caleb up with him when he sits up on his knees, breaking the kiss for only a moment.

“I feel like we should’ve done this a long time ago,” Ben says.

“I feel like you need to shut up,” Caleb says, cutting off any reply with another kiss. Ben kisses rashly and surely, like he does everything else in life. Caleb runs his hands up Ben’s stupid coat to hold his face, biting his lips and earning soft, hungry sounds in reply. Caleb’s hands fumble at the zipper of Ben’s coat when, of course, there’s the sound of metal screeching.

The bell stops its sounding abruptly. They break apart; Ben nearly topples off balance when the elevator starts up with a lurch and begins its sluggish descent. Caleb groans and covers his face with his hands. “We had to do this in an elevator.”

“Not the most convenient,” Ben agrees. “But hey, at least we got it done?”

“Just — never speak,” Caleb says, but they’re both grinning like idiots.

The elevator doors open on a crowd of firefighters and some poor guy in a suit who looks deeply unhappy to be caught in the bustle.

“Are you two okay?” asks a firefighter in a neon vest.

“All good,” Ben confirms, only a little awkwardly, given everything. “Thanks for untrapping us.”

“Think I’ll be taking the stairs from now on,” Caleb puts in before they’re let go.

And they do. On the second landing Ben stops him with a contemplative look in his eye. “This is why Anna always coughs when I come in the room, isn’t it?”

“I’m gonna kill her,” Caleb says distantly. “Oh my God.”

“I thought she had asthma!” Ben laughs, “Or like, a really bad choking habit.” He grabs Caleb’s hand and starts up the stairs again. “She’ll love this.”

“Please, we can’t tell her. I’ll die.”

“She will _love_ this.”

Caleb just shakes his head, but he knows there’s no escaping it. Not that he really wants to, he muses. As they make their way up the cold stairwell to his small apartment with bad interior heating and an elevator that breaks down on days that get below zero, Caleb thinks he’s happier than he’s been in a very, very long time.


End file.
